Bishop of Kilmore Leo O’Reilly has retired from his position on health grounds and has had his resignation accepted by Pope Francis.

The Bishop of Cork and Ross was lucky to escape injury after his car was among several vehicles which were pelted with stones as they drove along a busy road on the southside of Cork City.

A meeting between the Catholic Bishop of Cork John Buckley and three city schools has failed to bring about an agreement on how to deal with dropping pupil numbers.

The Catholic Church will not reject people because they use contraception, don’t attend Mass every Sunday, have sex outside marriage or live lives that run counter to the ideals of the Church, according to the Bishop of Cork and Ross.

Bishop John Buckley couldn’t live in the Bishop’s Palace. He would feel cut off, he tells Claire O’Sullivan